Flickering
by Ms.Knibbe
Summary: Maura knew something was off from the beginning. This place she was trapped in was wrong in almost every way possible. But the only thing that could be even wronger than this world was the mind who was responsible for this bizarre nightmare in the first place. This place is deathly and Maura has to make sure that she won't fall into the dark abyss.


**Hello, and welcome to _Flickering_!  
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**This idea floated in my mind for quite some time and finally, I was able to finish the first chapter.**

**When I first played the game, I have to admit that I did not expect the characters to be so interesting and inspiring. But after a short time, the story really intrigued me, but it took me some time to really understand everything. It is a complex system and leaves much space for interpretation, exploration and experimentation. And I want to explore as much as possible with this story. And while doing it, I thought it would do no harm to share it with you guys, so please:**

**enjoy**

**But I also have to note that English isn't my native tongue, and while I think that I can speak and write it rather fluently, there are always mistakes somewhere. So please, point my mistakes out to me, may they be in terms of grammatical or spelling mistakes, plot holes, weird and inauthentic behavior of various characters or overpowered own characters. I appreciate all the criticism and help I get, because through that, my English and writing skills can improve.**

**That being said, I won't bother you any longer, but present the first chapter to you :)**

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><p><em>"Fear is the condition for survival" - Peter Scholl-Latour<br>_

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><p>For the last three minutes, her gaze had never left the clock above the door, effectively distracting her from her paper work, which was laying on the desk in front of her. She knew she had to write her protocols and reports -it was part of her job and organization was an important aspect that should never be underestimated- but right now she just couldn't concentrate on her task. She was sitting in her small office, the only noise she could listen to was the constant and monotone ticking of the watch she was staring at. And it was driving her crazy.<p>

Normally, she would have had no objection in sitting in that small office, doing her work with enthusiasm, listening to that ticking noise and sometimes some music, but today was completely different. She was feeling stressed and tensed, and occasionally, a big headache would appear out of nowhere, so intensive that she had to stop whatever she had been doing. When those headaches pained her, it seemed as if the walls were moving, reducing the space in an attempt to trap her, and she couldn't help but feel as if she was being watched. She wanted to leave this small room as soon as possible, but her superior was a strict person. Her break was beginning at twelve o'clock and ending at half past twelve, and she would not be allowed to leave any earlier or return a minute too late. So there was nothing left to do but to wait patiently for those last three minutes to pass by before she could leave.

Finally, after what had seemed like an eternity, both clock hands were pointing at the number twelve, her eagerly awaited permission to escape the hospital for a short time. She took off her white coat and put on her black cardigan before leaving the office. She had promised Maria, a nurse who had worked on the same floor her patients were stationed on for a long time, to go with her to the new cafe that had just opened two blocks from here last week. They would meet up in the entrance hall, as always, and then spend their break together.

The heels of her black shoes were making a steady and rhythmic clicking sound when she walked on the gray and white tiles, echoing through the surprisingly silent hallway. She immediately regretted her decision to wear these shoes today, that clacking sound was nothing but annoying and unnerving, reminding her of the ticking noise that had driven her crazy just seconds ago. She walked faster, trying to get to the elevator on the end of the hallway as soon as possible. She really wasn't feeling so well, but maybe that would change when she got some fresh air. Yes, it had been sticky in her office, and for some reason she hadn't had the glorious idea of opening a window, so that was probably one of the reason why she had those headaches in the first place. She just had to get outside, maybe have a talk with an actually sane person like Maria, drink some coffee, have lunch and everything would be fine again. Eating some chocolate she always carried with her couldn't hurt either.

She was in such a hurry that she didn't realize that the new nurse, who usually stood behind the reception desk of this floor was missing. She also didn't notice that her patients weren't making any noise in their cells either. Not, Ellen Jasper, not Caty Freiberg, not even Walter Fitsch, a patient who never stopped talking, not even when he was laying in a deep slumber. But it seemed as if her mind was clouded today, she knew something was odd, but she just couldn't determine what. Getting a clear head suddenly was a difficult task, and before she could do anything against it, a sudden wave of pain swept through her skull. Yet, this one was different. It was so intense and painful that she had to stop in her tracks and seek support on the wall with one hand, otherwise she would have certainly lost her balance. She closed her eyes, trying to ease the sudden pain away and failing miserably. It got worse with every second, the sharp pain in her head letting her loose her orientation, she was stumbling and bending over. A stretched and excruciating hiss forced itself through her clenched teeth, her whole body tensing and trembling. She had to use her whole willpower to regain her composure and force her eyes open. The hallway was stretching and compressing itself, the walls were shaking, and a horrible, ear-wrecking ringing noise shot through her head, paralyzing her effectively.

But to her surprise -and relief- this gruesome feeling disappeard, the pain being gone as fast as it had overwhelmed her. She waited a couple of seconds, making sure that the ache was really gone for sure before almost running to the elevator and slamming the right button. With a small rattle the doors closed and the elevator set itself into motion. "What the hell just happened?" she murmured silently. Her back leaned against the elevator's wall, steadying her position, while she was reflecting the short event. She had never experienced such an unique, sudden and agonizing headache. It had come without any warnings, there had been no signs, it had appeared out of nowhere and had been almost so strong that the plain thought made her shudder again. To be honest, that had been quite concerning. She was sure that she had no pills at home which could prove to be effective against that kind of pain, but she was working at a mental hospital, so getting some medications would be no problem at all. 'I'll just 'borrow' something from the hospital's medication when my break is over. That should suffice, I guess.'

A couple of moments later, the elevator stood still, opening it's doors with a swoosh and granting her access to the destined floor. To her surprise, when she got out of the elevator, the big door which lead to the entrance hall was closed. Normally, they stood widely open, giving direct access to this hallway and the elevators on the right wing of the giant building, so seeing them closed was slightly puzzling. She still was alone and had not spotted a single person on her way down here, and slowly, she was growing suspicious of this whole situation she found herself in:

the random headaches, those unexplained feelings of claustrophobia and paranoia, the closed doors and the fact that she apparently was the only living being in the entire building. Something was definitely off, she was sure of that. On her way to the closed door she tried to make as little noise as possible, but -of course- all her efforts would be for nothing as long as she was wearing shoes with heels. But even though she was convinced that there was something fishy about this whole situation, she found it silly to take off her shoes and run around on bare feet. There surely was some sort of logical explanation, she probably just had been too isolated in her office or had just forgotten something important, maybe this area had been closed off by the police and she just had not gotten the memo.

So instead of walking or rather sneaking like any normal person would, she wobbled her way to the door, slowly trying to tiptoe her way to her destination. When she eventually reached the double-winged, white door, she put her hands on the cold metal handle and pulled strongly, her vision focused on her hands. The door would try to give in, to open the way to the entrance hall, but was blocked by it's locking mechanism. She frowned, now she would have to take a huge detour in order to leave the hospital through the front door. If she hadn't been wary before, she certainly was now.

And then, she smelled it. She would recognize that metallic scent everywhere, she worked in Beacon Mental Hospital, that nauseous smell was more than familiar to her. She smelled blood. Now, blood in a hospital wasn't very unusual, but normally it was overlaid by the acrid smell of disinfectants and one would certainly never smell it when entering the entrance hall. Smelling blood when entering an unknown building unsettled most of the new patients, so it was made sure that that would never happen.

Slowly, praying that her suspicions would not be affirmed, she looked up from her hands, which were holding the door handle so tightly that her knuckles turned white. There, through the small window in the door, she saw them. Her already limited view was further lidded by a slick, red splash, but it was not enough to hide the horrendous image from her eyes. Blood was covering almost everything, some splashes reaching over the walls and dripping from the ceiling, she could make out smeary hand prints from people who had been desperately trying to flee through the door across the room, and many red, and big puddles of the red substance were staining the floor. And so many dead bodies in them: nurses, patients, security staff, policemen and visitors, some of them lying in their own pool of blood, others hanging in their seats or wheelchairs like wet sacks, Carly, the nurse on the reception lying with her face down on the reception-desk, her expression lifeless. Her body stiffened, her breath became short and abrupt, why was it suddenly so hard to breathe? A haggard sound left her throat, followed by desperate and panic-fuelled whimpers, the only noise echoing through the deadly silent hallway. She desperately tried to muffle her whimpering by clasping a hand over her mouth, her own sounds making her even more distressed. She felt as if she was suffocating, and nausea swept in waves through her body when her gaze fell on Maria. She had a horrid expression carved into her face, with her own blood all over herself, her eyes rolled back, her mouth wide agape and her body twisted in an unnatural way, showing Maura the to the bone slit throat.

That...wasn't real. This couldn't be. This couldn't have happened. She was hallucinating, maybe dreaming or under the influence of medications, but this could never be reality. She had been here, in the same building, at the same time, just a couple of hours ago she had been walking through that room, had talked to some of those people. She surely would have heard something, or would have met a disturbed survivor, right? She should have noticed, she couldn't have been so oblivious to the fact that a massacre had just taken place at the hospital without her even knowing. That was just...impossible.

She was slowly retreating from the door, the only thing that was separating her from this horrific bloodbath, from reality. Her body suddenly felt limp and tears were about to roll down her cheeks. When had this happened? Why had it happened? Who was still here, alive, besides her? Were there any other survivors? Who were the murderers? _Where _were the murderers? She stiffened, her eyes widening at that thought. They could still be somewhere in this building, maybe searching for survivors such as herself or killing patients.

But instead of panicking and freaking out completely, there was a calm voice inside her head. It was soothing, as if the situation was completely under it's control, as if the incident had not been as gruesome as it clearly was. 'Okay, Maura, get a grip on yourself. Breathe! Calm down and _think_! Don't start running into a random direction, that will most probably kill you. It is not the time to cry and get hysterical, but to act. You are probably not out of danger, those killers could be anywhere in these hallways, and you have no clue where or how many there are. If you don't want to end up like them, you have to come up with some sort of plan.' She listened to the voice, concentrating on what it was telling her. First, the words had seemed wrong, out of place, but the longer she listened, the more she understood. The things it said seemed to be...logical. As much as her body wanted to just collapse and break down, and as much as it had appeared to be a legitimate thing to do, the more she listened to that voice of hers, the more she started to realize the situation she was in, the more she got over her first shock.

Okay, now that she was sort of settled down, she could form a plan. She had to make sure that nothing would giver her existence or location away. Then, she had to find a way to call for help, after that, she would either hide or try to leave, and somewhere in between, she should probably find something to defend herself. Or should she leave and then call for help? What would increase her surviving rate, an attempt to escape or waiting for help from trained police officers? What should she do first? Well, probably get away from the door, and stop standing in the middle of a wide hallway, without some sort of cover or hiding place. Where would be a good hiding place? She hastily turned around, her eyes darting from left to right, searching for something, anything that could cover her, so that she would not be seen. Nothing, the hallway was empty, there were just doors, nothing more. What was behind those doors? She didn't know, or did she? Her thoughts were scattered again, the urge to run welled within her again. Common sense was escaping, panic was suddenly taking over again. The calmness was almost completely gone again. How long had it even lasted? Mere seconds, it seemed.

_No_, she had to keep her cool, stay focused and she had to concentrate on anything but running and crying now. She knew what was behind those doors, she had worked here for quiet some time. She shortly closed her eyes and took a deep, shaky breath. The first room to her right would be a unpractical hiding place, it was nothing but a boxroom, just brooms, mops and other cleaning utensils in there. She could hide there, but she wanted to find help and escape the building, not hide in all eternity in a boxroom. The next door to her right lead into a small storage room, filled with all kinds of medications, syringes, medical tools and other stuff, in case a patient had a surprising mental breakdown and hurt himself and or the people surrounding him or her. It was close, it had medication and it harbored some tools that, when used in the right way, could hurt people, maybe even kill a person. Yeah, she could probably make it to that room without being slaughtered by some sort of lunatic who could turn around the corner at any second now.

But before she would actually go there, she quickly took off her shoes, they would definitely give her away too easily. She was afraid, scared to death. Two seconds ago, she would have had no problem with running away, but now, moving seemed almost impossible to her. Her body was stiff, her movements hasty and rigid, and her legs threatening to give away with every step she took. Her eyes always kept the end of the hallway in check, should anyone show up, she would be trapped. But to her relief, there was no sign that a living being would be turning around that corner anytime soon. She eventually reached the door, and her blue eyes set on the door knob, her hands shaking as she tried to open the door.

With a small clack, the door unlocked. But as she was about to push it open, she was stopped in her movements. Suddenly, a hand, heavily disfigured and covered with burns, clasped around her arm, holding it so tight that her arm was already hurting and letting her gasp in pain. Startled, she immediately turned her body to look at the person that had apparently come out of nowhere. Everything happened after that was too fast for Maura to comprehend. All she could remember were those gray eyes, staring her down, emitting an aura of danger and superiority that could not be denied. And while she was stunned by that capturing, yet at the same time piercing stare, a sharp pain exploded at her neck. However, the feeling was short lived, but so intense that she was sure that it would consume her whole body and kill her before she would be able to react. But darkness came over her quickly, and with it, the pain faded away.

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><p>She did not know how long she had been in this state, just floating in that darkness, embracing it's silence and it's coldness and she did not care. She had the feeling that she could stay here forever, where it felt like nothing could harm her, where she felt save and sound. But sadly and against her will, she was being pulled away. The darkness faded away, leaving her vulnerable. She knew it when a numbing scent of rotten flesh, bile and blood filled her nose, when that soft and enjoyable feeling of floating in nothingness was being replaced with a harsh and cold surface against her backside, gravity pushing her against it almost violently in comparison to the light feeling she had felt before. When she started hearing drops of water falling onto the ground and flies buzzing in the air.<p>

Finally, she opened her eyes, only to be blended by bright white light. Automatically, she raised her hands to shield her face from the painful light and closed her eyes again. Slowly, she opened them again and her vision was filled with forms and colors, giving her an idea of where she was right now. Although she didn't recognize the room she was in, she knew immediately that she did not want to stay in there any longer than necessary. She was laying on a metal desk, stained with blood splashes, some of them old, some of them still fresh and soaking her red dress. On the far left was a container, filled with what seemed like dead and rotting corpses, guts, body parts and blood. More ravaged and shredded bodies were hanging from the ceiling, some of them ravaged and torn, their wounds so horrific that Maura had to ask herself what could've possibly had the strenght and force to cause such wounds, and their remaining blood dripping off of their feet on the dirty and shattered tiles which covered the floor. Above her head, there was a surgery lamp attached to a metal bar. On a small, rusted metal table located beside the table she was lying on, there were multiple medical tools covered with a red crust, sprawled over it's surface, most of them looking rather old-fashioned. And everything in here, the room itself included, looked rotten, old, damaged and rather outdated.

She needed to get away from here, fast. Although she wasn't fully conscious yet, she was quite sure that she would regret it if she decided to stay here any longer. Maura didn't question how she had gotten here, she didn't wonder where this place was and who had brought her here, she didn't think about all those corpses, their lives probably lost for quite some time, or the creature that wouldn't just inflict those wounds on people, but even hang them in a room like they were some kind of trophy or decoration. She just had two things in mind: _'How do I get out of here?_' and _'For how long am I going to be alone in this room?_'

Maura's first question was quickly answered when she spotted a huge, metal double door with round windows and a smaller door to her right. One of them would be her way out of here. And about the latter question... To be honest, she didn't want to stay here to get the answer. Faster than she would have expected from herself, considering the condition she was in, she sat up and slid down from the operating table. She immediately noticed the feeling of a thick liquid sticking to her feet. Her bare feet. She did not wear any kind of shoes, and the ones she had taken off were nowhere in sight. But she could bother herself with those minor issues when she got out of this death trap, not while _escaping_ it.

She also didn't bother to check the container or any of those hanging bodies for survivors. Even if some of them were still alive, she did not have the time or the tranquility to free them _and_ making sure they'd get out of here alive. She probably should have been shocked about her cold-hearted decision she had made in less than three seconds, or at least have a feeling of guilt settling down in her chest, making her feel bad or question her morality, she was a doctor after all and it should be her duty to at least try to save people. But she wasn't shocked about her actions or doubting them. On the contrary, it had been an easy decision to do so, and she would only notice that much later, when it would be too late for her and those doomed people to feel guilty about it.

When Maura reached the huge door, she heard a shrieking, metal noise, joined by heavy foot steps, a rattling noise -probably from a chain- and a inhumanly deep and twisted groan. For her, an obvious hint to go through the other door, or rather run there. Because she was 100 percent sure that she did not want to meet that thing that was making those noises.

Maura wouldn't take any chances with the unknown...something nearing her position, for all she knew, that thing sounded none too friendly. So she did the most logical thing that came to her mind, she started sprinting to the other door. The noise was getting louder. She tried to moved faster. But due to her hectic rush, she lost her balance when her bare foot slipped on a puddle of blood, which ended with her whole body colliding with the wet floor. The impact was hard and made her feel dizzy, a dull pain numbing her whole body. She heard the door squeaking. _It_, whatever it was, was about to enter the room, and she was still lying there, disorientated from the fall and struggling to get up. Her first attempt to stand up failed miserably, her hasty movements were too sluggish, throwing her off balance again instead of steadying her movements, and her feet slipped again on the red liquid, intensifying her the numb sensation. The growing panic intensified her paralysis, making it almost impossible for her to move at all.

But then something rushed through her body, flowing through her veins, and thinking, and with that, panicing became irrelevant. This new sensation broke her out of her petrified state, letting her forget about the dull pain in her head and the sounds of her surroundings, including the heavy steps coming near her position. The only noise that drummed in her ears was her own fast and strong heartbeat and her heavy breathing. She tried to get up again, almost tripping a third time in the process, but succeeding this time and making a final dash to the door.

She practically ran into the door, the lock breaking far too easily under her weight -probably because it had been old and damaged like everything else in this place- and giving her access to a surprisingly well lit and clean corridor. Not turning back, she sprinted forward, too afraid to even look at the thing.

Her hopes to escape rose higher with every step she ran, hopefully putting a great distance between her and her unknown pursuer. But suddenly a deafening, angry sounding and low horn echoed through the halls, it's source located somewhere behind her. The sound vibrated through her whole body, giving her an unpleasant feeling, combined with vibrant pain erupting in her head again, slowing her down drastically. The pain was familiar, comparable with the headache she had experienced in the hospital today, but not nearly as painful. Nonetheless, it was enought to stop her in her tracks, letting her cover her ears in a futile attempt to muffle the agonizing noise. It was starting to make her body limp. She couldn't go on like this, this noise had to stop or it would get her. And to her surprise, it did indeed stop, releasing her from her pain again. But a bright yellow light, enlightening the whole corridor, casting long shadows on the floor and walls and almost blending out everything else took the noise's place, confusing Maura.

Startled, she turned around, trying to find the source of the unexpected and unnaturally strong light. But she saw nothing, she was only blended, although it did not hurt her eyes like it should have. Surprisngly, Maura's fear was suddenly gone, washed away by the light that engulfed her, it was as if her panic had been completely unjustified, stupid and ridiculous even. She was safe within that light, and it would not change as long as she stayed in it. It's shining was pulling her in, tempting her to get closer to its source. So without any hesitation or second thoughts she turned around and took slow but steady steps towards it. It was calling her, telling her to get closer, reassuring her that she was going to be safe, and she did not suspect the light to tell lies, she did not doubt the secure feeling and hope the light gave her and the warm feeling that spread through her whole body.

Oddly though, Maura started to see shapes in that light, dark lines forming shapes: some sort of round helmet, with a circle in front, like a round window to look through, seemingly flying in the air. It reminded the young woman of an old version of a diving helmet. The shapes were getting clearer the closer she got, the shadows were getting darker, and the light was starting to fade away. The weaker it got, the more Maura came to her right mind. She stopped walking, standing still again to examine the image that was slowly appearing before her eyes. The helmet was still several feet away from her, and stood two feet taller than her, not flying in the air, but resting on a big, bulky body, perforated with huge nails, covered in dirty and blood stained rags and wrapped in iron belts. It was wearing old and damaged leather gloves and metal boots with rusty spikes, nails and sharp edges. This was bad, and she realized that this creature was nothing but menacing, not friendly like the light it had been emitting and it did not look like it had any intentions on keeping her safe. And with that realization, the light was suddenly completely gone, ripping away the calm feeling that had spread in her whole body and this urge to follow the light. She snapped out of her trance and back into reality, and it felt horrible. She felt cold again, shattered, as if her hope had been stolen, gone with the light.

The creature had emitted that light, a gruesome plan to lure her to him, to capture her and to kill her. And it wasn't hesitating to end her life, as it rose it's arm, it's fingers clutching around the handle of a spiked mace. She was in his range and her chance of getting out of the danger zone in time was slim. Her eyes widened, and her whole body tensed. But she wouldn't stand still, watching that creature as it would butcher her. She turned around and ducked, barely evading the weapon swung at her and running for her dear life. A disgruntled, inhuman and deep roar erupted from that thing and fast and heavy steps shook the floor. It was pursuing her.

No matter what, she would not turn around again, she would not fall for that light again, she would not get caught by that thing or even get killed by it. Judging from the foot steps, which were getting quieter with every step she ran away from him, this thing was slow. And fortunately for her, it did not try to use that sound again to stun her. So she ran down the only road she could take, not caring where she would end up, just hoping to get away from that thing. But she couldn't run forever, and she was running on a corridor without any other doors or junctions, so even if she could outrun her pursuer, run around all the corners so he could not see her anymore, he couldn't possibly be stupid enough to loose her for good. If there wouldn't tun up some sort door or exit soon, he would get her either way.

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><p>Her lungs were already burning and her feet started to hurt. The effects of the adrenaline were wearing off, she got slower. There was surely enough of a distance between her and that monster for her to slow down, so she stopped after turning around a corner. She listened for any suspicious sounds. Nothing. She was safe for the moment.<p>

Time to catch her breath, to actually inspect her surroundings. Still the same corridor, still poorly lit. But then her eyes locked on something. Old fashioned elevator doors, revealing the poorly lit elevator behind them. It looked intact. Her way out of here, away from this thing? She walked toward it, breathing heavily and stumbling over her own feet, but never falling down. The second she entered the elevator, the doors closed behind her and the soft rattling and the vibrating floor told her that it was moving. As she turned around, she watched as the corridor she had just run through several minutes seemed to move down until it was gone. So she was moving to an upper level. Relieved, she rested her back on the wall and slipped down to the floor, her legs finally giving away. They felt like they were made out of jelly by now.

Had she been in a basement? That would explain the sticky air and the lack of windows. But where was she then? It couldn't be the hospitals basement, because she remembered it to be fairly different. And there had never been any surgery room with a giant monster on a killing spree in it.

After an unusual long time in the elevator, it eventually came to a stop, revealing another corridor to her, not so different from the one she had just left, but there were several doors and many wheelchairs standing in the hallway. Although the elevator was standing still, the doors did not open. She was trapped. For testing purposes, she tried to move the doors, but the wouldn't move an inch. Frustrated, she let go of the grid and groaned loudly. That could not be true now, could it? Pushing any buttons on the console in the elevator didn't help either.

"Great! What next? Maybe the building falling apart? My new friend paying me visit in..."

She was interrupted by the sound of bare feet running on tiles and a distant scream. She paused for a moment, concentrating on the sound. That was a person was screaming. She got nervous again, what was happening there?

Suddenly the door burst open, and a thin, young man with ash-blond hair and pale skin was running her way, hunched over and hands clutched on the sides of his head, as if to cover his ears. His clothes were white and way too big for him, hiding his thin and fragile body. His movement seemed clumsy and he looked scared, terrified even. Maura recognized him instantly. That was Leslie Withers, a patient of her superior, Dr. Jimenez. She immediately was on the metal grid again, rattling desperately on them, trying to pry them open to either let him in or to get out to him. And to her surprise, the doors really opened, although she doubted that it had been her doing. The noise startled Leslie, causing him to look her way.

"Leslie! Come here!"

And to her relief, he really moved in her direction, still screaming at the top of his lungs, but at least reacting to her. She had no clue what made him so frightened, and normally she would have suspected something minor and harmless to scare him, but after her encounter with that Lightman, she didn't doubt that this time his fear was justified.

Finally, Leslie reached her and stepped into the elevator, the doors instantly closed again. The boy was still panicking, screaming and trembling and there was no indication that he would stop anytime soon. She tried to sooth him, to calm him down so that he at least wouldn't scream anymore:  
>"Shh! Leslie, calm down! Everything is fine. You are safe with me. Everything is fine."<p>

It did not seem to affect the young man, he seemed to ignore her completely, almost unaware of her presence. She had to gain his attention on another way. First she wanted to take his hands with her own, but she noticed that they were covered in blood. Looking down on herself, she realized that not just her hands were stained with the thick, red liquid, but also her dress and her black cardigan. That would not help her in her task to calm him down. But she couldn't change her clothes now, or clean herself.

So she took his hands anyway, snapping him out of the state he was in and finally gaining his attention.

"Leslie! Settle down. You are safe with me now."

He stared at her, still scared and whimpering, but at least he had stopped screaming. She used that precious moment of his quiet attention and kept talking:  
>"I know I am a bit dirty, but nothing you should worry yourself about."<p>

"Worry yourself, worry yourself, worry yourself!"

He repeated the word like a mantra, he broke eye contact and just stared at the wall behind Maura.

"You still know me, don't you? I looked after you for a short time, remember?"

He looked at her face again, his gaze focused for once, before his expression lit up in excitement for a moment:  
>"Chocolate?"<p>

A relieved sigh escaped Mauras' lips. It all would be a lot easier with him recognizing her. She smiled at him:

"Yes, Leslie. Dr. Maura Freud. I always gave you some chocolate after our meetings."

Then she remembered the chocolate bar she had put in her pocket today. She let go of Leslies' hands and groped her pockets. A surge of happiness flooded her mind as she felt the plastic wrapping with her finger tips. She immediately fumbled it out of her pocket, showing the wrapped bar to the boy. She could feel through the thin layer of plastic that the bar was a bit deformed, It must have happened when she had slipped on the puddle of blood, but she did not think that Leslie would care too much. Smashed chocolate was better than no chocolate at all.

"I have some with me. Do you want it?"

He nodded like a small child would, so she quickly ripped the package open and gave it to him. He accepted, immediately nagging at the bar and sometimes murmuring the word 'chocolate'. She couldn't remember everything about him, but she remembered his file mentioning his repetitive behavior and developmental delays. Dealing with him could prove to be very difficult, especially when he barely recognized her and when he was under pressure and stressed. If he did not accept her as a person he could trust even a little bit, than he would most likely try to get away from her and cause even more problems.

The elevator stopped, this time opening it's doors immediately and letting them step out of the elevator. They stepped into a familiar hallway. It took her some time to recognize it, but eventually, she did. Baffled she whispered more to herself:

"Impossible, this can't be the hospital."

"Hospital, hospital, hospital!"

Leslie started to panic again, clearly horrified by the thought of the facility he had spent most of his lifetime in. Maura swirled around to the boy, starting to comfort him again:

"It's okay Leslie. We won't stay here. We will go outside and take a nice walk together, okay? I'll look after you, I promise."

He stared at her, then nodded, starting to waddle after her again, maybe a bit hesitantly, but coming after her anyway. They were in the floor she had been surprised by the man with the gray eyes, and everything looked like it had been before she had blacked out. So she could assume that this would also apply to the entrance hall. The only difference was that the huge door was opened now. How was she going to get him through that, how was she going to get herself through that?

She had to keep her calm, should she show any hint of fear or anxiety, then Leslie would undoubtedly notice. And that wouldn't be something she wanted to happen. She could keep a mask of calmness, she was a doctor after all, and this time, she knew what would be coming next. She would not be overwhelmed and shocked by the gruesome and terrifying image, but she could not speak for Leslie. An idea rose up in her mind, it wasn't really elegant and almost silly, but that was the best she could come up with right now, and the boy wouldn't judge her if she proposed that silly idea of hers:

"Leslie, we are going to do a trust exercise. We did something similar once, do you remember?"

He looked up to her, confused. He probably couldn't remember:

"Remember? Remember?"

"I want you to take my hand, and then I want you to close your eyes, I will be guiding you to the entrance, okay?"

He looked uncomfortable, almost as if he was about to reject that offer, but to her relief, he just waddled closer and hesitantly took a hold of her hand. Then, he closed his eyes.

She gripped his hand firmly, and he squeezed his fingers around her hand. She was relieved that Leslie was so cooperating, listening to her and doing what she said without much struggle. This could have been far more complicated, with him running off or struggling, but the boy was a kind creature, not violent in any way or defiant, making it easier to deal with him.

She took a deep breath, calming herself down one last time and mentally preparing herself before pushing the door open widely, so she and Leslie could step through without a problem. She never took a look around, just focused on finding a way around the puddles of blood and the corpses, so Leslie wouldn't notice too much. She could do almost nothing about the smell, but Leslie kept his eyes shut firmly, just coming closer to her. She did not mind, and slowly pushed against Leslie, signalizing him to move into the other direction. She had almost reached the exit, when she noticed something in the corner of her eye. Someone was standing there, lurking in the shadows, watching her. She moved her head into the direction she suspected the person to be, but there was nothing. Just a man laying face-down in his own puddle of blood. Had that been her imagination? Was she becoming paranoid? She had been sure that there had been someone standing. A hallucination?

She couldn't think about that right now, she still had to guide Leslie out of here and the door was right in front of her. She would not fail now or let herself be distracted by an illusion.

"We are almost there Leslie, don't open your eyes just yet, you are doing great."

"Great, great, great."

With one hand, she pushed the heavy door open, almost having to put her whole weight into it in order for the door to move. But she did it, and quickly pulled Leslie outside, a little bit too harsh, but in the end, they were both standing before the building while the door closed again behind them.

"You can open your eyes now, Leslie. We are out...side..."

She trailed off as she took in the world around her. This had to be some sort of dream, a horrible, psychotic nightmare.


End file.
